Soul food that happens to be vegan

Pecan cinnamon rolls

Melt in your mouth gooey, sweet cinnamon goodness. Like a Cinnabon, but without the stodge and sugar hangover - you won't miss the yeast, refined sugar (well, except for smidgen in the vegan cream cheese), butter or white flour, I promise! Makes 9 rolls.

Ingredients

Cinnamon rolls:

2½ cups wholemeal spelt flour

Additional wholemeal spelt flour for rolling out the dough

1¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp sea salt

2 tblsp cold-pressed sunflower or safflower oil

2 tblsp brown rice malt

½ cup plain soya yoghurt

½ cup unsweetened soya milk

Filling:

½ cup brown rice malt

⅓ cup whole pecans

3 tsp ground cinnamon

Glaze:

5 tblsp vegan cream cheese

3 tblsp brown rice malt

⅓ cup whole pecans

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 210 degrees.

Put the pecans (all of the pecans, i.e. ⅔ cup of pecans) into a small dry skillet and lightly toast over a medium heat. When the pecans are just starting to brown, slide them out of the pan and onto a chopping board. Chop the pecans, divide into two equal portions, and set aside.

Mix together the dry ingredients for the cinnamon rolls (flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt) in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Mix together the yoghurt and milk in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the 2 tbsp oil and 2 tblsp brown rice malt into a small skillet over a low heat, stirring with a fork until the brown rice malt 'melts' into the oil and then pour into the yoghurt/mix mixture, stirring to combine. (If you don't have a small skillet, you can still use a larger pan, but it is recommended that you hold the pan at 45 degrees to the heat, and then add your ingredients into the corner of the pan that is closest to the heat, stirring with a fork - to avoid wasting the oil/brown rice malt mixture when it comes time to pour it out of the pan).

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a fork to combine.

Turn the mixture onto a non-stick floured surface (I like to use grease proof baking paper, generously covered in flour) and sprinkle flour over the dough. Dip your fingers in flour and use them to press and spread the dough into a rectangle approximately 25 cm x 30 cm. Use as much flour as needed to avoid your hands sticking to the dough. Smooth over the top of the dough with a rolling pin.

To make the filling, put the ½ cup of brown rice malt into a small skillet over a low heat, stirring with a fork until the brown rice malt 'melts', then mix in the cinnamon.

Slowly pour the filling over the dough, covering the dough as evenly as possible with a thin layer of the filling and being sure not to miss the longer ends of the dough. Use a fork to smooth the filling down, and then sprinkle one half of the chopped pecans (i.e. ⅓ cup pecans) over the dough.

Starting at the shorter end of the dough, roll the dough into a tight log.

Use dental floss to cut the dough into nine rolls.

Place the rolls onto a pan lined with greaseproof paper.

Bake for ten minutes at 210 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 175 degrees and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the tops are just starting to brown. Take out of the oven, leaving the rolls in the pan, and set aside.

To make the glaze, first 'melt' the 3 tblsp of brown rice malt, using the same technique as before (i.e. put the brown rice malt into a very small skillet over a low heat, stirring with a fork until the brown rice malt 'melts').

Stir the rice malt into the vegan cream cheese, mixing until the mixture is smooth with no lumps.

Drizzle approx. half the glaze over the rolls, sprinkling the remaining chopped pecans over the rolls. Wait around 5 minutes for the glaze to soak into the rolls, then drizzle over the remaining glaze.

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What The Smug Vegan is about

The Smug Vegan is about comforting, tasty eats that just happen to be vegan and healthy. Vegan here means no meat, fish, seafood, dairy or eggs. Healthy here means wholefoods (no refined sugar, no refined salt, no bad oils) and avoiding nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, eggplants). No dieting or detox tips, just food that makes you feel nourished. Created for those who love to eat, all the people who ask vegans ‘so what DO you eat’, the friends who have been begging for my recipes, and folks wondering what to do with tofu.